"As of January 1998 the corals of Galapagos are showing massive bleaching, as in the Niño of 1983. In early October of 1997, Bartolome, Champion, and Urvina Bay (Isabela Island) were visited. These all have corals in the vicinity ranging in depth from 2 to 12 meters. At that time there were no signs of bleaching at any of the sites.
In late January of 1998 the sites were revisited. Additionally a visit was made to the most developed coral location in Galapagos, that of Wenman Island in the extreme northerly section of the Archipelago. At all sites visited there were marked signs of bleaching. However, the bleaching was not complete for most colonies and some species seem to be experiencing a greater effect than others
At Bartolome all corals were partially white with the exception of Pocillopora, which, apart from the very tips of the branches, was looking remarkably healthy, although the species is not common there. Other species were starkly white, but a close examination revealed that the tops of the heads were affected more severely than the sides, which appeared to suggest that the parts most exposed to the sun were the most affected. This, in turn, seems to suggest that it is not uniquely the rise in sea temperature that causes bleaching of corals in Galapagos, but at the very least a combination of temperature and sunlight
At Urvina Bay, the Pavona clavus heads were in much better shape, with an estimated 15% bleaching and that limited to the relatively sharp corners and edges on the heads. These corals are in shallow water, 2-3 meters deep. Temperatures near the corals show that they rose from 26°C in October to 29-30°C in mid-January. Thereafter the temperature has fallen slightly to around 28.5°C.
On the east coast of Wenman, where abundant corals grow on a 12-meter ledge and the steep slope to seaward, Porites corals were showing strong bleaching and colonies down to 25 meters were displaying this effect, although some individuals appeared to be faring better than others, even at shallower depths. Again the few Pocillopora corals appeared healthy. As elsewhere, the shaded sides of corals showed less bleaching than the uppermost parts. On the north side of the island on a vertical face, the corals were looking healthy and showed no sign of bleaching. However, the sea temperature was in excess of 29°C and no thermocline was present down to 25 meters. No sharks or serranids were present. At Champion bleaching is partial. Pavona gigantea at 12 meters showed some colonies still colored and healthy whilst others were bleaching
Generally the SST's around the Archipelago increased from about 28°C to about 29.5° late in 1997 and have stayed high since then. No thermocline was detected in January down to 25 meters at any site."--Godfrey Merlen,Santa Cruz, Galapagos VIA Jerry Wellington <wellington@UH.EDU>